Alpha1,3-fucosyltransferase

Abstract

A bacterial &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene and deduced amino acid sequence is provided. The gene is useful for preparing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide, and active fragment thereof, which can be used in the production of oligosaccharides such as Lewis X, Lewis Y, and siayl Lewis X, which are structurally similar to certain tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens found in mammals. These product glycoconjugates also have research and diagnostic utility in the development of assays to detect mammalian tumors. In addition the polypeptide of the invention can be used to develop diagnostic and research assays to determine the presence of H. pylori in human specimens.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/048,857, filed Jun. 6, 1997, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferases and, more specifically, to &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides which are transmembrane segment-free.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Helicobacter pylori is an important human pathogen which causes both gastric and duodenal ulcers and has also been associated with gastric cancer and lymphoma. This microorganism has been shown to express cell surface glycoconjugates including Lewis X, Lewis Y. and sialyl Lewis X. These bacterial oligosaccharides are structurally similar to tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens found in mammals.

[0004] The presence of H. pylori isoiate has been associated with an increased risk for development of gastric cancer (Wirth, H.-P., Yang, M., Karita, M., and Blaser, M. J. (1996) Infect. Immun. 64, 4598-4605). This pathogen is highly adapted to colonize human gastric mucosa and may remain in the stomach with or without causing symptoms for many years. Although H. pylori elicits local as well as systemic antibody responses, it escapes elimination by the host immune response due to its sequestered habitation within human gastric mucosa. Another mechanism by which H. pylori may protect itself from the action of the host immune response is the production of surface antigens mimicking those in the host.

[0005] In mammalian cells the enzyme &agr;(1,3/1, 4)-fucosyltransferase (namely FucT) catalyzes the last step in the synthesis of two carbohydrate structures, Gal&bgr; 1-4[Fuc&agr;1-3] GlcNAc (Lewis X, Lex for short) or NeuAc&agr;2-3-Gal&bgr; 1-4[Fuc&agr;1-3]GlcNAc (sialyl Lewis X, sLex for short). (Lowe et al., 1990, Cell 57: 475-484.; Kukowska-Latallo et al., 1990, Genes & Development 4:1288-1303.) Cell surface &agr;(1,3)- and &agr;(1,2)-fucosylated oligosaccharides, that is, Lewis X (Lex), sialyl Lewis X (sLex) and Lewis Y (Ley), are present on both eukaryotic and microbial cell surfaces. In mammals, Lex is a stage-specific embryonic antigen, however, Lex, sLex and Ley are also regarded as tumor-associated markers. The biological functions of these bacterial oligosaccharide structures are not fully understood. It has been suggested that such glycoconjugates produced by H. pylori, may mimic host cell antigens and could mask the bacterium from the host immune response. It is also possible that these bacterial Lewis antigens could down regulate the host T-cell response. Therefore, production of such antigens may contribute to colonization and long-term infection of the stomach by H. pylori.

[0006] Presently, use of carbohydrates as potential therapeutic drugs has become popular in the field of medical chemistry. In addition, qualitative and quantitative carbohydrates including Lex, Ley and sLex are also required as reagents for assaying the enzymes which are involved in the biosynthesis of glycoconjugates in cells. Lex, Ley and sLex products which are commercially available are chemically synthesized. However, synthesis of these products gives rise to several limitations such as time-consuming, complicated procedures and low yields. Although several mammalian fucosyltransferases have been cloned and expressed, enzymatic synthesis of Lex, Ley and sLex products for a commercial purpose has not been reported.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention is based on the discovery of a novel &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide and gene which encodes the polypeptide. The present invention includes a novel nucleic acid sequence of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide which is useful in the detection and synthesis of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide.

[0008] In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of using the novel &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase to synthesize oligosaccharides such as Lex, Ley and sLex.

[0009] In another embodiment the invention provides the novel polypeptide of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase which is useful in the development of antibodies to &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase.

[0010] In another embodiment, the novel polypeptide of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase has a carboxyl terminal ˜100 amino acids in length having therein a heptad repeat of X1X2LRX3X4Y, wherein X1 is D or N; X2 is D or N; X3 is I, V or A; X4 is N or D. In another embodiment, the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase is a peptide selected from SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:2, and SEQ ID NO:3. In another embodiment the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase may have a variable number of heptad repeats.

[0011] Further provided is a method for producing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase. The method involves the step of culturing a gene expression system which comprises a host cell which has been recombinantly modified with a polynucleotide encoding &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase or a portion thereof and harvesting the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase. A preferred embodiment of the method is directed to the use of the claimed genetic expression system which produces &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase.

[0012] These and many other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the Examples.

Abbreviations

[0013] The abbreviation used are: FucT, &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase unless specified otherwise; Lex, Lewis X; sLex, sialyl-Lewis X; Ley, Lewis Y; nt, nucleotide (s); kb, kilobase (s); aa, amino acid (s); PCR, polymerase chain reaction; ORF, open reading frame; RSB, a ribosomal binding site; LPS, lipopolysaccharides; HD-Zip, homeodomain-leucine zipper; bZip, basic region-zipper; LacNAc-R,

[0014] Gal&bgr;1-4GlcNAc&bgr;-O—(CH2)8COOMe;Gal&bgr;1-3GlcNAc-R,

[0015] Gal&bgr;1-3GlcNAcb-O—(CH2)8COOMe; LacNAc-TMR,

[0016] Gal&bgr;1-4GlcNAc&bgr;-O—(CH2)8CO—NHCH2CH2NH-TMR; Phenyl-Gal, phenyl-&bgr;-galactoside.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1. Schematic representation of plasmid constructs containing an intact or partial HpfucT gene. Hatched arrow bars represent the H. pylori fucT genes, and the arrows point in the direction of the transcription orientation. T7 indicates the location of a T7 promoter. Restriction endonuclease sites used for subcloning are denoted. BA=BamHI; B=BglII; X=XmnI; H=HindIII; and E=EcoRI.

[0018] FIG. 2A shows nucleotide (SEQ ID NO: 4) and deduced amino acid (SEQ ID NO:1) sequences of H. pylori fucT gene. A Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence, the Kozak's consensus context, putative −10 and −35 regions, an asymmetric inverted repeat and a putative transcription terminator are indicated in the nucleotide sequence. Putative asparagine-linked glycosylation sites are underlined in the amino acid sequence. Primers used for construction of pBKHp763fucT38 and pBKHp763fucT39 are located by arrow bars.

[0019] FIG. 2B, a hydropathy profile of HpFucT as predicted by the method of Kyte-Doolittle.

[0020] FIG. 3A, shows representative sequence alignment of the HpFucT with eukaryotic &agr;-1,3-fucosyltransferases using the program of Pileup (the GCG package, version 8.0). BfucT3=bovine FucT III; HfucT6=human FucT VI; MfucT4=mouse FucT VI; CfucT1=chicken FucT1. Underlined residues represent the proposed transmembrane segment within the respective FucTs. Identical residues within all the aligned proteins are denoted by both asterisks and bold type: Corresponding residues partially conserved by HpFucT and other FucTs are indicated by bold type alone.

[0021] FIG. 3B, shows a sequence comparison of the direct repeat region of HpFucT with the leucine zipper motifs within the chicken EAP-300 protein, HD-Zip proteins, and bZip proteins. Conserved leucines among all the compared proteins are marked by asterisks and bold type. Degrees of sequence identity and similarity (including the conservative replacement) between HpFucT and ATHD-Zip proteins are given on the right in panel B. ATHD-Zip, Aabidoposis thaliana homeobox-leucine zipper proteins; EAP-300 is a developmentally regulated embryonal protein; TAF-1, is a tobacco transcription activator 1; CPRF1, is a common plant regulatory factor isolated from parsley; TodS, is a histidine kinase in Pseudomonas putida F1. Numbers in panels A and B indicate the aligned regions corresponding to the respective proteins.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a electrophoresis gel showing over expression of the H. pylori fucT gene in E. coli CSRDE3 cells. Equal amounts of the protein extracts as determined by the turbidity of the cultures were separated on a 13.5% polyacrylamide gel. Lane 1, pBKHp763fucT38; Lane 2, pBKHp763fucT39; Lane 3, pBluescript II KS-; Lane 4, no plasmid. The proteins bands of interest and molecular mass makers (BRL/Gibco) were indicated by arrow heads and lines on the left, respectively.

[0023] FIG. 5 shows graphical analysis of reaction mixtures containing the membrane fraction of cells harboring pBKHp763fucT39 by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection. FIG. 5A is an electropherogram showing the reaction product from an incubation containing LacNAc-TMR and GDP-fucose with the membrane extract from pBKHp763fucT39. Lewis X (Gal&bgr;1→4[Fuc&agr;1→3]GlcNAc&bgr;-TMR) and GlcNAc&bgr;-TMR were formed and confirmed by both co-injection with standards and treatment with a-fucosidase. FIG. 5B is an electropherogram showing the reaction mixture obtained from a-fucosidase treatment containing Lewis-X-TMR with a 36% reduction in fluorescence signal. The GlcNAc-TMR peak also had a corresponding increase in intensity by 39%. (c) Separation of nine standard TMR oligosaccharides found in mammalian metabolism, LacNAc&bgr;- (1), Fuc&agr;a1→2Gal&bgr;1→4GlcNAc&bgr;- (2), Gal&bgr;1→4[Fuc&agr;1→3] GlcNAc&bgr;- (3), Fuc&agr;1→2Gal&bgr;1→4[Fuc&agr;1→3]GlcNAc&bgr;- (4), GlcNAc&bgr;- (5), linker arm- (6), NeuAc&agr;2→6LacNAc&bgr;- (7), NeuAc&agr;2→3LacNAc&bgr;- (8), NeuAc&agr;2→3Gal&bgr;1→4 [Fuc&agr;1→3]GlcNAc&bgr;-TMR (9).

[0024] FIG. 6 shows the amino acid sequence comparison among HpFuc-Ts from different H. pylori strains. HpFuc-Ts: 26695 A/B from strain 26695; 1182 from UA1182 (SEQ ID NO:2); 763 from NCTC11639; 11637 from NCTC11637; and 802 from UA802 (SEQ ID NO: 3). The position leading to the frameshift is indicated by a ↑.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] The present invention relates to novel purified &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides, polynucleotides which encode the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase, and the use of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene and &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides in the production of biologics and in the screening of biological tissues and fluids. The invention also relates to antibodies against &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides and their use in diagnosing disorders and in monitoring disease.

[0026] The &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase Polypeptide

[0027] The amino acid sequence encoded by the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene is shown in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase is transmembrane segment-free. The term “transmembrane segment-free” refers the absence of a transmembrane segment found in eukaryotic &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase. Absence of a transmembrane segment allows the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase of the invention to be readily released from cells expressing the enzyme. Further, because the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase are prokaryotically derived post-translational modifications are not made to the enzyme, unlike the eukaryotically expressed &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase.

[0028] Additionally, the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide may be altered by addition or deletions of peptide sequences in order to modify its activity. For example, polypeptide sequences may be fused to the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide in order to effectuate additional enzymatic activity. Alternatively, amino acids may be deleted to remove or modify the activity of the protein. The protein may be modified to lack &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase enzymatic activity but yet retain its structural three-dimensional structure. Such modification would be useful in the development of antibodies against &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide as described more fully below.

[0029] Another embodiment relates to the direct repeats of seven amino acid residues proximal to the C-terminus. These heptad-repeats have the structure: X1X2LRX3X4Y, wherein X1 and X2 are independently D or N; X3 is I, V or A; X4 is N or D The number of heptad repeats which potentially constitute a leucine zipper (L-Zip) may be varied (FIG. 6). Another embodiment is directed to the amino acid substitutions introduced into these heptad repeats.

[0030] In yet another embodiment, the invention includes aspects of the enzymatic activity of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase, wherein the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide lacks &agr;1,4-fucosyltransferase or &agr;1,2-fucosyltransferase activity or lacks both &agr;1,2-fucosyltransferase and &agr;1,4-fucosyltransferase activity.

[0031] The &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product may include those proteins encoded by the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene sequences described in the section below. Specifically, &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene products, sometimes referred to herein as “&agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides”, may include &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product encoded by an &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene sequence shown in FIG. 2 and SEQ ID NO:4. Thus, the term “&agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide” includes full length expression as well as polypeptides, such as smaller peptides, which retain a biological activity of the full length product, such as &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase activity.

[0032] In addition, &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene products may include proteins or polypeptides that represent functionally equivalent gene products, for example and not by way of limitation, the sequences of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:2 and SEQ ID NO: 3 Such an equivalent &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product may contain deletions, additions or substitutions of amino acid residues within the amino acid sequence encoded by the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene sequences described above, but which results in a silent change, thus producing a functionally equivalent &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product. Amino acid substitutions may be made on the basis of similarity in polarity, charge, solubility, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, and/or the amphipathic nature of the residues involved.

[0033] For example, nonpolar (hydrophobic) amino acids include alanine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, proline, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and methionine; planar neutral amino acids include glycine, serine, threonine, cysteine, tyrosine, asparagine, and glutamine; positively charged (basic) amino acids include arginine, lysine, and histidine; and negatively charged; (acidic) amino acids include aspartic acid and glutamic acid. “Functionally equivalent.”, as utilized herein, refers to a polypeptide capable of exhibiting a substantially similar in vivo activity as the endogenous &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene products encoded by the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene sequences described above, as judged by any of a number of criteria, including but not limited to antigenicity, i.e., the ability to bind to an anti-&agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase antibody, immunogenicity, i.e., the ability to generate an antibody which is capable of binding a &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase protein or polypeptide, as well as enzymatic activity.

[0034] A substantially purified &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase protein, polypeptide, and derivative (including a fragment) is substantially free of other proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and other biological materials with which it is naturally associated. For example, a substantially purified functional fragments of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide can be at least 60%, by dry weight, the molecule of interest. One skilled in the art can purify functional fragment of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase protein using standard protein purification methods and the purity of the polypeptides can be determined using standard methods including, e.g. polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (e.g., SDS-PAGE), column chromatography (e.g., high performance liquid chromatography), and amino-terminal amino acid sequence analysis.

[0035] Included within the scope of the invention are &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase proteins, polypeptides, and derivatives (including fragments) which are differentially modified during or after translation. Any of numerous chemical modifications may be carried out by known techniques, including but hot limited to specific chemical cleavage by cyanogen bromide, trypsin, chymotrypsin, papain, V8 protease, NaBH4; acetylation, formylation, oxidation, reduction; metabolic synthesis in the presence of tunicamycin; etc. Additionally, the composition of the invention may be conjugated to other molecules to increase their water-solubility (e.g., polyethylene glycol), half-life, or ability to bind targeted tissue.

[0036] Furthermore, nonclassical amino acids or chemical amino acid analogs can be introduced as a substitution or addition into the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide sequence. Non-classical amino acids include, but are not limited to, the D-isomer of the common amino acids, &agr;-amino isobutyric acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, Abu, 2-amino butyric acid, &ggr;-Abu, epsilon-Ahx, 6-amino hexanoic acid, Aib, 2-amino isobutyric acid, 3-amino propionic acid, ornithine, norleucine, norvaline, hydroxyproline, sarcosine, citrulline, cysteic acid, t-butylglycine, t-butylalanine, phenylglycine, cyclohexylalanine, &bgr;-alanine, fluoro-amino acids, designer amino acids, such as &bgr;-methyl amino acids, &agr;-methyl amino acids, N&agr;-methyl amino acids, and amino acid analogs in general. Furthermore, the amino acid can be D (dextrorotary) or L (levorotary).

[0037] While random mutations can be made to &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase DNA (using random mutagenesis techniques known to those skilled in the art) and the resulting mutant &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides tested for activity, site-directed mutation of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase coding sequence can be engineered (using site-directed mutagenesis techniques well known to those skilled in the art) to create mutant &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides with increased functional characteristics.

[0038] Peptides corresponding to one or more domains of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase protein, truncated or deleted &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase proteins as well as fusion proteins in which the full length &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase proteins, polypeptides or derivatives (including fragments), or truncated &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase, is fused to an unrelated protein are also within the scope of the invention and can be designed on the basis of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase nucleotide and &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase amino acid sequences disclosed in this section and the section above. The fusion protein may also be engineered to contain a cleavage site located between a &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase sequence and the non-&agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase protein sequence, so that the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide may be cleaved away from the non-&agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase moiety. Such fusion proteins or polypeptides include but are not limited to IgFc fusion which may stabilize the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase protein in vivo; or fusion to an enzyme, fluorescent protein, or luminescent protein which provide a marker function.

[0039] The &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide may be produced by recombinant DNA technology using techniques well known in the art. Thus, methods for preparing the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides of the invention by expressing nucleic acid containing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene sequences are described herein. Method which are well known to those skilled in the art can be used to construct expression vectors containing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase coding sequences and appropriate transcriptional translational control signals. These methods include, for example, in vitro recombinant DNA techniques, synthetic techniques, and in vivo genetic recombination. See, for example, the techniques described in Sambrook et al., 1989, supra, and Ausubel et al., 1989, supra. Alternatively. RNA capable of encoding &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide may be chemically synthesized using, for example, synthesizers. See, for example, the techniques described in “Oligonucleotide Synthesis”, 1984, Gait, M. J. ed., IRL Press, Oxford, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The use of such synthetic peptide fragments of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase for generating polyclonal antibodies is described below.

[0040] The &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase Gene

[0041] The &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene is a novel gene (FIG. 2) whose expression is found in H. pylori. Nucleic acid sequences of the identified &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase genes are described herein. As used herein, “&agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene” refers to (a) a gene containing the DNA sequence shown in FIG. 2; (b) any DNA sequence that encodes the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 2, SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 3; (c) any DNA sequence that hybridizes to the complement of the coding sequences shown in FIG. 2, SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 3 under stringent conditions, e.g., hybridization to filter-bound DNA in 0.5 M NaHPO4, 7% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 1 mM EDTA at 65° C., and washing in 0.1×SSC/0.1% SDS at 68° C. (Ausubel F. M. et al., eds., 1989, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Vol. 1, Green Publishing Associates, Inc., and John Willey & Sons, Inc., New York, at p. 2.10.3) and encodes a gene product functionally equivalent to a gene product encoded by sequences shown in FIG. 2; and/or (d) any DNA sequence that hybridizes to the complement of the coding sequences disclosed herein (as shown in FIG. 2), under less stringent conditions, such as moderately stringent conditions, e.g., washing in 0.2% SSC/0.1% SDS at 42° C. (Ausubel et al., 1989, supra), and encodes a gene product functionally equivalent to a gene product encoded by sequences shown in FIG. 2.

[0042] The invention also includes nucleic acid molecules, preferably DNA molecules, that hybridize to, and are therefore the complements of, the DNA sequences (a) through (c), in the preceding paragraph. Such hybridization conditions may be highly stringent or less highly stringent, as described above. In instances wherein the nucleic acid molecules are deoxyoligonucleotides (“oligos”), highly stringent condition may refer, e.g., to washing in 6×SSC/0.05% sodium pyrophosphate at 37° C. (for 14-base oligos), 48° C. (for 17-base oligos), 55° C. (for 20-base oligos), and 60° C. (for 23-base oligos). These nucleic acid molecules may act at &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene regulation and/or as antisense primers in amplification reactions of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene nucleic acid sequences. Further, such sequences may be used as part of ribozyme and/or triple helix sequences, also useful for &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene regulation. Still further, such molecules may be used as components of diagnostic methods whereby the presence of a pathogen or metastatic tumor cell may be detected.

[0043] The invention also encompasses (a) DNA vectors that contain any of the foregoing coding sequences and/or their complements (i.e., antisense); (b) DNA expression vectors that contain any of the foregoing coding sequences operatively associated with a regulatory element that directs the expression of the coding sequences; and (c) genetically engineered host cells that contain any of the foregoing coding sequences operatively associated with a regulatory element that directs the expression of the coding sequences in the host cell. As used herein, regulatory elements include, but are not limited to, inducible and non-inducible promoters, enhancers, operators and other elements known to those skilled in the art that drive and regulate expression.

[0044] The invention includes fragments of any of the DNA sequences disclosed herein. Fragments of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene corresponding to coding regions of particular domains, or in which one or more of the coding regions of the domains is deleted (e.g., the sequence encoding the c-terminal 101 amino acids as shown in FIG. 2), are especially useful. Such &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene fragments may encode truncated gene products that retain a biological activity of the full-length &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide, such as &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase activity or immunogenicity. The invention also includes mutant &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase genes encoding substitutions of amino acids as described below.

[0045] In addition to the gene sequences described above, homologs of such sequences, as may, for example, be present in other species, including humans, may be identified and may be readily isolated, without undue experimentation, by molecular biological techniques well known in the art. Further, there may exist genes at other genetic loci within the genome that encode proteins which have extensive homology to one or more domains of such gene products. These genes may also be identified via similar techniques.

[0046] The &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene and its homologs can be obtained from other organisms thought to contain &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase activity. For obtaining cDNA, tissues and cells in which &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase is expressed are optimal. Tissues which can provide a source of genetic material for &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase and its homologs, therefore, include intestinal mucosal cells and tumorigenic cells.

[0047] For example, the isolated &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene sequences may be labeled and used to screen a cDNA library constructed from mRNA obtained from the organism of interest. The hybridization conditions used should be of a lower stringency when the cDNA library is derived from an organism different from the type of organisms from which the labeled sequence was derived. Alternatively, the labeled fragment may be used to screen a genomic library derived from the organism of interest, again, using appropriately stringent condition. Low stringency conditions are well known in the art, and will vary predictably depending on the specific organism from which the library and the labeled sequences are derived. For guidance regarding such condition see, for example, Sambrook et al., 1989, Molecular Cloning, a Laboratory Manual, Cold Springs Harbor Press, N.Y.; and Ausubel et al., 1989, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Green Publishing Associates and Wiley Interscience, N.Y.

[0048] Further, a previously unknown &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene type sequence may be isolated by performing PCR using two degenerate oligonucleotide primer pools designed on the basis of amino acid sequence within the gene of interest. The template for the reaction may be cDNA obtained by reverse transcription of mRNA prepared from human or non-human cell lines or tissue known or suspected to express a &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene.

[0049] The PCR product may be subcloned and sequenced to ensure that the amplified sequences represent the sequences of a &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene-like nucleic acids sequences. The PCR fragment may then be used to isolate a full length cDNA clone by a variety of methods. For example, the amplified fragment may be labeled and used to screen a bacteriophage cDNA library. Alternatively, the labeled fragment may be used to screen a genomic library.

[0050] PCR technology may also be utilized to isolate full length cDNA sequences. For example, RNA may be isolated, following standard procedures, from an appropriate cellular or tissue source. A reverse transcription reaction may be performed on the RNA using an oligonucleotide primer specific for the most 5′ end of the amplified fragment for the priming of first strand synthesis. The resulting RNA/DNA hybrid may then be “tailed” with guanidines using a standard terminal transferase reaction, the hybrid may be digested with RNAase H, and second strand synthesis may then be primed with a poly-C primer. Thus, cDNA sequences upstream of the amplified fragment may easily be isolated. For a review of cloning strategies which may be used, see e.g., Sambrook et al., 1989, supra.

[0051] In cases where the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene identified is the normal, or wild type, gene, this gene may be used to isolate mutant alleles of the gene. Mutant alleles may be isolated from individuals either known or proposed to have a genotype which contributes to intestinal mucosal disease and/or tumorigenicity. Mutant alleles and mutant allele products may then be utilized in the therapeutic and diagnostic systems described below.

[0052] A cDNA of the mutant gene may be isolated, for example by PCR. In this case, the first cDNA strand may be synthesized by hybridizing an oligo-dT oligonucleotide to mRNA isolated from tissue known or suspected to be expressed in an individual putatively carrying the mutant allele, and by extending the new strand with reverse transcriptase. The second strand of the cDNA is then synthesized using an oligonucleotide that hybridizes specifically the 5′ end of the normal gene. Using these primers, the product is then amplified via PCR, cloned into a suitable vector, and subjected to DNA sequences analysis through methods known in the art. By comparing the DNA sequence of the mutant gene to that of the normal gene, the mutation(s) responsible for the loss or alteration of function of the mutant gene product can be ascertained.

[0053] A variety of host-expression vector systems may be utilized to express the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene coding sequences of the invention. Such host-expression systems represent vehicles by which the coding sequences of interest may be produced and subsequently purified, but also represent cells which, when transformed or transfected with the appropriate nucleotide coding sequences, exhibit the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product of the invention in situ. These include but are not limited to microorganisms such as bacteria (e.g., E. coli, B. subtilis) transformed with recombinant bacteriophage DNA. plasmid DNA or cosmid DNA expression vectors containing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product coding sequences; yeast (e.g. Saccharomyces, Pichia) transformed with recombinant yeast expression vectors containing the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product coding sequences; insect cell systems infected with recombinant virus expression vectors (e.g., baculovirus) containing the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product coding sequences; plant cell systems infected with recombinant virus expression vectors (e.g., cauliflower mosaic virus, CaMV; tobacco mosaic virus, TMV) or transformed with recombinant plasmid expression vectors (e.g., Ti plasmid) containing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product coding sequences; or mammalian cell systems (e.g., COS, SHO, BHK, 293, 3T3) harboring recombinant expression constructs containing promoters derived from the genome of mammalian cells (e.g., metallothionein promoter) or from mammalian viruses (e.g., the adenovirus late promoter; the vaccinia virus 7.5 K promoter).

[0054] In bacterial systems, a number of expression vectors may be advantageously selected depending upon the use intended for the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product being expressed. For example, when a large quantity of such a protein is to be produced, for the generation of pharmaceutical compositions of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide or for raising antibodies to &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide, for example, vectors which direct the expression of high levels of fusion protein products that are readily purified may be desirable. Such vectors include, but are not limited to the E. coli expression vector pUR278 (Ruther et al., 1983, EMBO J. 2:1791), in which the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product coding sequence may be ligated individually into the vector in frame with the lac z coding region that a fusion protein is produced; pIN vectors (Inouye & Inouye, 1985, Nucleic Acids Res. 13:3101-3109); and the like. pGEX vectors may also be used to express foreign polypeptide as fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase (GST). In general, such fusion proteins are soluble and can easily be purified from lysed cells by adsorption to glutathione-agarose beads followed by elution in the presence of free glutathione. The pGEX vectors are designed to include thrombin or factor Xa protease cleavage sites so that the cloned target gene product can be released from the GST moiety

[0055] In an insect system, Autographa colifornica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) is used as a vector to express foreign genes. The virus grows in Spodoptera frugiperday cells. The &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene coding sequence may be cloned individually into non-essential regions (for example the polyhedrin gene) of the virus and placed under the control of an AcNPV promoter. Successful insertion of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene coding sequence will result in inactivation of the polyhedrin gene and production of non-occluded recombinant virus. These recombinant viruses are then used to infect S. frugiperda cells in which the inserted gene is expressed.

[0056] In mammalian host cells, a number of viral-based expression systems may be utilized. In cases where an adenovirus is used as an expression vector, the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene coding sequence of interest may be ligated to an adenovirus transcription/translation control complex, e.g., the late promoter and tripartite leader sequence. This chimeric gene may then be inserted in the adenovirus genome by in vitro or in vivo recombination. Insertion in a non-essential region of the viral genome (e.g., region E1 or E3) will result in a recombinant virus that is viable and capable of expressing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product in infected hosts (See Logan & Shenk, 1984, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, USA 81:3655-3659). Specific initiation signals may also be required for efficient translation of inserted &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product coding sequences. These signals include the ATG initiation codon and adjacent sequences. In cases where an entire &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene, including its own initiation codon and adjacent sequences, is inserted into the appropriate expression vector, no additional translation control signals may be needed. However, in cases where only a portion of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene coding sequences is inserted, exogenous translational control signals, including, the ATG initiation codon must be provided.

[0057] Transfection via retroviral vectors, naked DNA methods and mechanical methods including micro injection and electroporation may be used to provide either stably transfected host cells (i.e., host cells that do not lose the exogenous DNA over time) or transient transfected host cells (i.e., host cells that lose the exogenous DNA during cell replication and growth).

[0058] An alternative fusion protein system allows for the ready purification of non-denatured fusion proteins expressed in human cell lines (Janknecht, et al., 1991, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:8972-8976). In this system, the gene of interest is subcloned into a vaccinia recombination plasmid such that the gene's open reading frame is translationally fused to an amino-terminal tag consisting of six histidine residues. Extracts from cell infected with recombinant vaccinia virus are loaded onto Ni2+ nitriloacetic acid-agarose columns and histidine-tagged proteins are selectively eluted with imidazole-containing buffers.

[0059] The &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene products can also be expressed in transgenic animals. Animals of any species, including, but not limited to, mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, pigs, micro-pigs, oats, and non-human primates may be used to generate &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase transgenic animals.

[0060] Expression Systems for &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase

[0061] The novel bacterial &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase encoded by the disclosed gene, and enzymatically active fragment thereof, can be used in the production of fucosylated oligosaccharides such as Lewis X, Lewis Y, and siayl Lewis X. These bacterial oligosaccharides are structurally similar to certain tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens found in mammals. These product glycoconjugates also have research and diagnostic utility in the development of assays to detect mammalian tumors.

[0062] The fucosylated oligosaccharides may be produced by any number of methods utilizing the methods and compositions described herein. Standard enzymology techniques well known in the art may be utilized to develop systems to provide fucosylated oligosaccharides (see for example the Methods in Enzymology, volume series published by Academic Press; and Tim Bugg, “An Introduction to Enzyme and Coenzyme Chemistry”, 1997, Blackwell Sciences, Inc.).

[0063] “Substrate”, as used herein, means any material or combinations of different materials, that may be acted upon by the polypeptide of the invention to give rise to fucosylated oligosaccharides, for example, and not by way of limitation, substrates may include LacNAc-R and GDP-fucose.

[0064] Cells containing and cell-free systems may be used to produce the fucosylated oligosaccharides of the present invention. Cells containing and cell-free systems will be better understood in the description and examples that follow. Such systems are useful in the development of fucosylated oligosaccharides.

[0065] The present invention provides a method for synthesizing fucosylated oligosaccharides by reacting substrates in the presence of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase, capable of catalyzing the formation of the fucosylated oligosaccharides from the substrates.

[0066] The &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase may be used regardless of its origin as long as it is capable of producing the fucosylated oligosaccharides from the substrates. The source of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase may be derived according to the methods and compositions as described herein, for example, through protein purification from host cells transfected with an expression system as described more fully below.

[0067] The substrates are allowed to react with the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide for a sufficient time and under sufficient conditions to allow formation of the enzymatic product, e.g. Lex, Ley and sLex. These conditions will vary depending upon the amounts and purity of the substrate and enzyme, whether the system is a cell-free or cellular based system. These variables will be easily adjusted by those skilled in the art. For example, the period of exposure of the enzyme to the substrate will be longer at lower temperatures, e.g., 4° C. rather than at higher temperatures. In the methods for synthesizing the fucosylated oligosaccharides there are no restriction in terms of the timing of the addition of the substrates. The ratios of the various substrates should be in equal proportions, i.e. 1:1. The ratios of the enzyme to the substrates may be varied depending upon the rate and quantity of fucosylated oligosaccharides desired.

[0068] The method of producing the fucosylated oligosaccharides may be carried out at temperatures of 4° C. to 60° C., more specifically at 20° C. to 45° C. Additionally, a number of buffers may be used, for example, and not by way of limitation, a buffer having a pH between 6.5 and, 8.0, but more preferably at pH 7.5, and in the presence of 15-30 mM Mn2+ but more preferably at a 25 mM Mn2+ concentration. After a desired amount of fucosylated oligosaccharides are produced the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide may be inactivated by heating, centrifugal separation, or the like. The resulting fucosylated oligosaccharides may be further purified by techniques known to those skilled in the art.

[0069] Cell containing systems for the synthesis of fucosylated oligosaccharides may include recombinatntly modified host cells according to the methods described below or may be naturally occurring cells which express &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide or an enzymatically active portion thereof, so long as the cell is capable of catalyzing the synthesis of fucosylated oligosaccharides from substrates.

[0070] In the case of cell containing systems the host cell is contacted with the substrate, under conditions and for sufficient time to produce the oligosaccharide. The time and conditions will vary depending upon the host cell type and culture conditions and can be easily determined by those of skill in the art.

[0071] The invention provides a gene expression system for producing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides. The gene expression system comprises a host cell which been modified with a polynucleotide encoding &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide or a portion thereof, as described above.

[0072] A preferred gene expression system of the invention involves host cell modified with a polynucleotide encoding &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide or a portion thereof.

[0073] The method involves culturing a gene expression system created according to the methods described above under conditions sufficient to produce the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide. The gene expression system comprises a host cell which has been recombinantly modified with a polynucleotide encoding a &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide or a portion thereof.

[0074] The method is also directed to harvesting the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide. A further step of the method involves substantially purifying the harvested &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase. The purified &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide may be used in the synthesis of fucosylated oligosaccharides or the preparation of antibodies as described above.

[0075] Specifically disclosed herein is a gene expression system recombinantly modified with a DNA sequence containing the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene. The sequence contains an open reading frame (ORF) of approximately 1211 base pairs which are transcribed into &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase product.

[0076] As used herein, the term “recombinantly modified” means introducing a polynucleotide encoding &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide into a living cell or gene expression system. Usually, the polynucleotide is present in a plasmid or other vector, although modification can also occur by uptake of free &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polynucleotide or numerous other techniques known in the art.

[0077] As used herein, the term “gene expression system” means a living eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell into which a gene, whose product is to be expressed, has been introduced, as described above.

[0078] As used herein, the term “harvesting” means collecting or separating from the gene expression system the product produced by the inserted polynucleotide.

[0079] Polynucleotide sequences encoding &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides can be, expressed by polynucleotide transfer into a suitable host cell.

[0080] “Host cells” are cells in which a vector can be propagated and its DNA expressed. A gene expression system is comprised of a host cell in which a vector was propagated and the vector's DNA expressed. The term “host cell” also includes any progeny of the subject host cell. It is understood that all progeny may not be identical to the parental cell since there may be mutations that occur during replication. However, such progeny are included when the term “host cell” is used. Host cells which are useful in the claimed gene expression system and the claimed method of producing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide include bacterial cells, yeast cells fungal cells, plant cells and animal cells.

[0081] Methods of stable transfer, meaning that the foreign DNA is continuously maintained in the host, are known in the art. In the present invention, the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polynucleotide sequences may be inserted into a recombinant expression vector. The term “recombinant expression vector” refers to a plasmid, virus or other vehicle known in the art that has been manipulated by insertion or incorporation of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase genetic sequences. Such expression vectors contain a promoter sequence which facilitates the efficient transcription of the inserted genetic sequence of the host. The expression vector typically contains an origin of replication, a promoter, as well as specific genes which allow phenotypic selection of the transformed cells. Biologically functional viral and plasmid DNA vectors capable of expression and replication in a host are known in the art. Such vectors are used to incorporate DNA sequences of the invention.

[0082] The method of the invention produces &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide which are substantially pure. As used herein, the term “substantially pure” refers to a protein which is free of other proteins, lipids, carbohydrates or other materials with which it is naturally associated. One skilled in the art can purify &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide using standard techniques for protein purification including preparative chromatography and immunological separations involving monoclinal or polyclonal antibodies. For example, the substantially pure &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase protein will yield a single major band of approximately 52 kD on a non-reducing polyacrylamide gel. The purity of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide can also be determined by amino-terminal amino acid sequence analysis. &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide include functional fragments of the polypeptide, as long as biological activity remains, such as &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase enzymatic activity. Accordingly, the invention includes a gene expression system and a method of producing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide which produce smaller peptides containing the enzymatic activity of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase.

[0083] Production of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase. Production of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase from the gene expression system of the invention is achieved by culturing a gene expression system comprising a host cell recombinantly modified with a polynucleotide encoding &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide or an enzymatically active portion thereof and harvesting the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide. The method further comprises substantially purifying the harvested &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide using protein purification protocols well known in the art (Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Chapter 10, eds. Ausubel, F. M. et al., 1994).

[0084] The method for producing &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide involves culturing the gene expression system of the invention under conditions of continuous culture, such as, but not restricted to, “fed-batch cultures” or continuous perfusion cultures. Other continuous culture systems which find use in the present invention is set forth in Wang, G. et al. Cytotechnology 9:41-49, 1992; Kadouri, A. et al. Advances in Animal Cell Biology and Technology for Bioprocesses, pp. 327-330, Courier International, Ltd., 1989; Spier, R. E. et al. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 18:649-57, 1976. 1 TABLE 1 Enzyme activity of the H. pylori FucT produced in E. coli CSRDE3 cells with an acceptor LacNAc-R Activity Samplea (mU)b Specific activityc Relative activityd BKHp763fucT38 cytoplasm 0 0 0 membrane 0 0 0 pBKHp763fucT39 cytoplasm 0.6 0.026  15% membrane 3.4 0.62  85% membrane+ Triton X-100 4.3 0.77 — aMembrane and cytoplasmic fractions were prepared from cells grown in 300 ml LB broth as described under Experimental Procedures. bA milliunit of enzyme activity is expressed as the amount of the enzyme fraction which catalyzes the conversion of one nanomole of acceptor to product per minute. Numbers represent total mU obtained from each enzyme fraction. cmU per mg protein. dOne hundred percent activity is total mU obtained from both the cytoplasmic and membrane fractions.

[0085] Antibodies to &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase Proteins

[0086] Antibodies that define the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product are within the scope of this invention, and include antibodies capable of specifically recognizing one or more &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product epitopes. Such antibodies may include, but are not limited to, polyclonal antibodies, monoclinal antibodies, humanized or chimeric antibodies, single chain antibodies, Fab fragments, F(ab′)2 fragments, fragments produced by a Fab expression library, anti-idiotypic (anti-Id) antibodies, and epitope-binding fragments of any of the above. Such antibodies may be used, for example, in the detection of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product in a biological sample, including, but not limited to, blood, plasma, and serum. Alternatively, the antibodies may be used as a method for the inhibition of abnormal &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product activity. Thus, such antibodies may be utilized as part of treatment for intestinal mucosal disease, and may be used as part of diagnostic techniques whereby patients may be tested for abnormal levels of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene products, or for the presence of abnormal forms of such proteins.

[0087] For the production of antibodies against a &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product, various host animals may be immunized by injection with a &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product, or a portion thereof. Such host animals may include but are not limited to rabbits, mice, and rats, to name but a few. Various adjuvants may be used to increase the immunological response, depending on the host species, including but not limited to Freund's (complete and incomplete), mineral gels such as aluminum hydroxide, surface active substances such as lysolecithin, pluronic polyols, polyanions, peptides, oil emulsion, keyhole limpet hemocyanin, dinitrophenol, and potentially useful human adjuvants such as BCG, interferon and other cytokines effecting immunological response.

[0088] Polyclonal antibodies are a heterogenous population of antibody molecules derived from the sera of animals immunized with an antigen, such as a &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product, or an antigenic functional derivative thereof. In general, for the production of polyclonal antibodies, host animals such as those described above, may be immunized by injection with &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene product supplemented with adjuvants as also described above.

[0089] Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which are homogenous population of antibodies to a particular antigen, may be obtained by any technique which provides for the production of antibody molecules by continuous cell lines in culture. These techniques include, but are not limited to, the hybridoma technique of Kohler and Milstein, (1975, Nature 256:495-497; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,110), human B-cell hybridoma technique (Kosbor et al., 1983, Immunology Today 4:72; Cole et al., 1983, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80:2026-2030), and the EBV-hybridoma technique (Cole et al., 1985, Monoclinal Antibodies and Cancer Therapy, Alan R. Liss, Inc., pp. 77-96). Such antibodies may be of any immunoglobulin class including IgG, IgM, IgE, IgA, IgD and any subclass thereof. The hybridoma producing the mAb of this invention may be cultivated in vitro or in vivo. Production of high titers of mAbs in vivo makes this the presently preferred method of production.

[0090] In addition, techniques developed for the production of “chimeric antibodies” (Morrison et al., 1984, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 81:6851-6855; Neuberger et al., 1984, Nature, 312:604-608; Takeda et al., 1985, Nature, 314:452-454) by splicing the genes from a mouse antibody molecule of appropriate antigen specificity together with genes from a human antibody molecule of appropriate biological activity can be used. A chimeric antibody is molecule in which different portions are derived from different animal species, such as those having a variable region derived from a murine mAb and a human immunoglobulin constant region.

[0091] Alternatively, techniques described for the production of single chain antibodies (U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,778; Bird, 1988, Science 242:423-426; Huston et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:5879-5883; and Ward et al., 1989, Nature 334:544-546) can be adapted to produce single chain antibodies against &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase gene products. Single chain antibodies are formed by linking the heavy and light chain fragments of the Fv region via an amino acid bridge, resulting in a single chain polypeptide.

[0092] Antibody fragments which recognize specific epitopes may be generated by known techniques. For example, such fragments include but are not limited to: the F(ab′)2 fragments which can be produced by pepsin digestion of the antibody molecule and the Fab fragments which can be generated by reducing the disulfide bridges of the F(ab′)2 fragments. Alternatively, Fab expression libraries may be constructed to allow rapid and easy identification of monoclinal Fab fragments with the desired specificity.

[0093] Methods of Detecting &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase in Biological Samples

[0094] The antibodies described above can be used in the detection of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides in biological samples. &agr;1,3-Fucosyltransferase polypeptide from blood or other tissue or cell type may be easily isolated using techniques which are well known to those of skill in the art. The protein isolation methods employed herein may, for example, be such as those described in Harlow and Lane (Harlow, E. and Lane, D., 1988, “Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual”, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0095] Preferred diagnostic method for the detection of wild type or mutant &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides may involve, for example, immunoassays wherein &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides are detected by their interaction with an anti-&agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide specific antibody.

[0096] For example, antibodies, or fragments of antibodies, such as those described above, useful in the present invention may be used to quantitatively or qualitatively detect the presence of wild type or mutant &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides. This can be accomplished, for example, by immunofluorescence techniques employing a fluorescently labeled antibody coupled with light microscopic, flow cytometric, or fluorimetric detection. Such techniques are especially preferred if the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides are expressed on the cell surface.

[0097] The antibodies (or fragments thereof) useful in the present invention may, additionally, be employed histologically, as in immunofluorescence or immunoelectron microscopy, for in situ detection of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides. In situ detection may be accomplished by removing a histological specimen from a patient, and applying thereto a labeled antibody of the present invention. The antibody (or fragment) is preferably applied by overlaying the labeled antibody (or fragment) onto a biological sample. Through the use of such a procedure, it is possible to determine not only the presence of the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide, but also its distribution in the examined tissue. Using the present invention, those skill in the art will readily perceive that any of a wide variety of histological methods (such as staining procedures) can be modified in order to achieve such in situ detection.

[0098] Immunoassays for wild type or mutant &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides typically comprise incubating a biological sample, such as a biological fluid, including but not limited to blood, plasma, or blood serum, a tissue extract, freshly harvested cells, or cells which have been incubate in tissue culture, in the presence of a detectably labeled antibody capable of identifying &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides, and detecting the bound antibody by any of a number of techniques well known in the art.

[0099] Detection may also be accomplished using any of a variety of other immunoassays. For example, by radioactively labeling the antibody or antibody fragments, it is possible to detect wild type or mutant &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptides through the use of radioimmunoassays (RIA) (see, for example, Weintraub, Principles of Radioimmunoassays, Seventh Training Course on Radioligand Assay Techniques, The Endocrine Society, March, 1986, which is incorporated by reference herein). The radioactive isotope can be detected by such means as the use of a gamma counter or a scintillation counter or by autoradiography.

[0100] It is also possible to label the antibody with a fluorescent compound such fluorescein isothiocyanate, rhodomine, phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin and fluorescamine.

[0101] The antibody can also be detectably labeled using fluorescence emitting metals such as 152Eu. Additionally the antibody may be detected by coupling it to a chemiluminescent, compound such as luminol, isoluminol, theramatic acreidinium ester and oxalate ester.

[0102] The following examples are intended to illustrate but not limit the invention. While they are typical, other procedures known to those skilled in the art may alternatively be used to illustrate the embodiments and methods of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

Cloning of the H. pylori fucosyltransferase (fucT) Gene

[0103] To clone the fucosyltransferase gene from H. pylori NCTC11639, degenerate primers were generated from the several regions conserved by three mammalian &agr; 1-3 fucosyltransferases, including human FucT VI, bovine FucT III and mouse FucT VI. Primer FUTF3 (5TT[T/C]TA[TC]CT[T/C/A/G]GC[G/A/T/C]TT[T/C]GA[A/G]AA3′) corresponds to residues 242-248 of human FucT VI, whereas primer FUCTR2 (5′AA[A/G]TC[A/G]TC[G/ATC]AC[A/G]TG[G/A/T/C]AG[A/G]AA3′) is complementary to the sequence deduced from its residues 289-295. An expected DNA fragment of ˜170 nt was PCR-amplified from chromosomal DNA of H. pylori NCTC11639 with the primer pair of FUCTF3 and FUCTR2 under a thermocycling program of 40 cycles: for the first two cycles, 1 min at 94° C., 30 sec at 40° C. and 40 sec at 72° C.; for the remaining cycles, 1 min. at 94° C., 30 sec at 50° C. and 40 sec at 72° C., followed by extension at 72° C. for 10 min. The PCR products were cloned into vector pCRTMII (Invitrogen, San Diego, Calif.) according to the supplier's instructions. Subsequently, the inserts in recombinant plasmids were sequenced with Thermo sequenase, and their nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences were used in the search for related proteins in databases with the software program Blast included in the GCG package (Version 8.0, Genetic Computing Group, Inc., Madison, Wis.). A clone, designated pCRHpfucT3, was demonstrated to contain the insert encoding the amino acid sequence homologous to known mammalian &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferases.

[0104] To clone a putative intact fucT gene from H. pylori, chromosomal DNA from H. pylori NCTC11639 was digested with restriction endonucleases, including Bg/II, EcoRI, BamHI, Bg/II-EcoRI, EcoRI-BamHI and Bg/II-BamHI, and then separated in a 1% agarose gel. DNA fragments containing the putative fucT gene were demonstrated by Southern hybridization with a [&agr;-32P]dCTP-labeled probe made from pCRHpfucT3. DNA. The 2.2-kb EcoRI-Bg/II and 4.5-kb EcoRI-BamHI fragments were cloned into vector pBluescript II KS- (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) which was digested with EcoRI and BamHI. Two clones, pBKHpfucT8 carrying a 2.2-kb EcoRI-Bg/II fragment and pBKHpfucT31 carrying a 4.5 kb EcoRI-BamHI, were selected for further characterization.

EXAMPLE 2

Plasmid Constructs and Expression of the H. pylori fucT Gene

[0105] To construct recombinant plasmids containing an intact or partial H. pylori fucT gene, three primers were generated from the nucleotide sequence in FIG. 1: ZGE37 corresponding to nucleotides 1-19; ZGE38 and ZGE39 complementary to nucleotides 1215-1233 and 1660-1679 respectively. ZGE37 contained a BamHI site, whereas ZGE38 and ZGE39 contained an EcoRI site. PCR products were amplified from pBKHpfucT31 with a primer pair of either ZGE37/ZGE38 or ZGE37/ZGE39. These PCR-amplified DNA fragments were digested with EcoRI and BamHI, and then cloned into pBluescript II KS-(Stratagene, La Jolla, CAS). The respective clones containing the H. pylori fucT gene of interest were screened by PCR with the corresponding pair of the above primers. Two clones, designated pBKHp763fucT38 and pBKHp763fucT39, contained a partial and an intact H. pylori fucT gene respectively. The coding region of the H. pylori fucT gene was controlled under the T7 promoter. The sequence of the PCR-amplified DNA fragments in pBKHp763fucT38 and pBKHp763fucT39 was determined and demonstrated to be identical to that of the native template.

[0106] Recombinant plasmids pBKHp763fucT38 and pBKHp763fucT39 were introduced into E. coli CSRDE3 cells by electroporation. The proteins encoded by the recombinant plasmids were over expressed in the presence of either [35S]methionine or cold methionine. The cells expressing [35S]methionine-labeled proteins were boiled for 5 min in 1× sample buffer and separated in a 13.5% SDS-polyacrylamide gel.

EXAMPLE 3

Fucosyltransferase Assays

[0107] E. coli CSRDE3 cells expressing nonradioactively labeled proteins encoded by pBKHp763fucT38 and pBKHp763fucT39 were harvested and suspended in Hepes buffer (20 mM Hepes, pH 7.0) supplemented with 0.5 mM of phenylmethylsulfonic fluoride (a proteinase inhibitor). Subsequently, membrane and soluble fractions of the cells were prepared after disruption with a French press. The membrane pellets were resuspended in the same Hepes buffer, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at −70° C. until use.

[0108] Assays of H. pylori &agr;1,3 and &agr;1,4 fucosyltransferase activities were conducted at 37° C. for 20 min in a volume of 20 &mgr;l containing either 720 &mgr;M LacNAc-R for &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase activity, Gal&bgr;1-3GlcNAc-R for &agr;1,4-fucosyltransferase activity, or 5.33 mM Phenyl-Gal for &agr;1,2-fucosyltransferase activity, 50 &mgr;M GDP-fucose, 100,000 d.p.m GDP-[3H]fucose, 20 mM Hepes buffer (pH 7.0), 20 mM MnCl2, 0.2% BSA and 8.5 &mgr;l of the enzyme fraction. The incubation mixtures were loaded onto Sep-Pak Plus C-18 cartridges and the unreacted donor was removed by washing the cartridges with water. The reaction products were eluted from the cartridges with 4 ml of methanol, and radioactivity was counted in 10 ml of Ecolite (+) cocktail in a Beckman LS 1801 scintillation counter (Palcic, M. M., Venot, A. P., Ratcliffe, R. M., and Hindsaul, O. (1988) Carbohydr. Res. 190, 1-11).

Capillary Electrophoresis Assay

[0109] The incubation mixtures contained 16 &mgr;l of the membrane fraction containing the intact HpFucT protein, 100 &mgr;M LacNAc-TMR, 100 &mgr;M GDP-fucose in a total volume of 20 &mgr;l of 20 mM Hepes (pH 7.0) containing 20 mM MnCl2 and 0.2% BSA. Incubation was done at 37° C. for 30 minutes. Subsequently, the sample was prepared and analyzed by capillary electrophoresis by injecting 12 &mgr;l onto an electrophoresis column (60 cm long) at 1 kV for 5 s. The electrophoretic separations were performed at a running voltage of 400 V/cm. &agr;-Fucosidase treatment was done by incubating the sample (10 mM total TMR) with 4 mU almond meal &agr;-fucosidase (Sigma-Aldrich, Canada, Ltd, Misissauga, Ontario) in a total volume of 40 &mgr;l of 50 mM sodium citrate buffer, pH 5.0 at 37° C. for 90 hours. Products were isolated and analyzed by capillary electrophoresis as described above.

Results

Cloning and Nucleotide Sequence of a H. pylori Fucosyltransferase Gene.

[0110] Three recombinant plasmids, pCRHpfucT3, pBKHpfucT8 and pBKHpfucT31 (FIG. 1) containing the intact or partial sequence of the fucT gene from H. pylori NCTC11639, were obtained as described in the examples above. The nucleotide sequences of these recombinant clones were sequenced from both strands using nested primers. FIG. 2A shows a nucleotide sequence of 1670 bp derived from clone pBKHpfucT31. The sequence is characterized by a major open reading frame (ORF), starting at nucleotide 145 and ending at nucleotide 1356, which was predicted in this region. As shown in FIG. 2A, an unusual sequence feature of this ORF was eight direct repeats of 21 nucleotides. An AA to GG transition at positions 12 and 13 of this repeat has occurred in repeat copies III and VI. An SD sequence, a ribosomal binding site (RSB) in prokaryotes (Shine, J., and Dalgarno, L. (1974) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 71, 1342-1346), precedes the predicted translation initiation codon AUG. In addition, the sequence “ACCATGT”, which is similar to the Kozak's consensus context “ACCATGG” (a common RSB in eukaryotes) (Kozak, M. (1986) Cell 44, 229-292), also exists at the beginning of the ORF. Putative transcription elements including −10 and −35 regions immediately upstream of the ORF, and a stem-loop structure following the stop codon of the ORF, which probably act as a transcription promoter and rho-independent transcription terminator (Platt, T. (1986) Annu. Rev. Biochem. 55, 339-372), were identified. An asymmetric inverted repeat sequence was found, encompassing 18 nucleotides and containing the putative −10 region. Another ORF downstream from the major ORF, in the opposite orientation as indicated in FIG. 2A, encodes the amino acid sequence similar to the corresponding region of the glutamate dehydrogenase identified in Corynebacterium glutamicum (nucleotide sequence accession #S32227).

Features of the Deduced Amino Acid Sequence of the H. pylori fucT

[0111] A protein consisting of 464 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 54,429 daltons was predicted from this ORF. A hydropathy profile (FIG. 2B) which was calculated by the method of Kyte and Doolittle ((1982) J. Mol. Biol. 157, 105-132), indicates that the deduced amino acid sequence is primarily hydrophilic, and does not contain a potential transmembrane segment (“transmembrane segment-free”).

[0112] Additionally, the predicted protein from the NTCT11639 H. pylori strain carries eight direct repeats of seven amino acid residues proximal to the C-terminus. There is a conservative replacement of valine by isoleucine at position 5 found in repeats III and VI, which results from the corresponding AA to GG mutations as mentioned above. Cloning of a number HpFucT from additional strains of H. pylori have demonstrated that the amino acid sequence is highly conserved (77% identity and 87% similarity) except for the heptad repeats. H. pylori contains two copies of HpFucT. The number of heptad repeats which potentially constitute a leucine zipper (L-Zip) domain are highly variable among the HpFucTs cloned and range from 11 to 3 in the various strains of H. pylori. (FIG. 6) There are some substitutions introduced into the heptad repeats. The repeat unit in UA1182 H. pylori strain is “DDLRVNY”, whereas in the UA802 strain the repeat unit is “NNLRADY”. (FIG. 6) Searches for sequence similarly shown in FIG. 3B revealed that this region of repeats in HpFucT is significantly similar to domains potentially forming a leucine-zipper structure within several homeobox-leucine zipper proteins (HD-Zip protein) including ATHB-1, ATHB-5 to 7 from Arabidoposis thaliana and tomato (nucleotide sequence accession # x94947) (FIG. 3B). The conserved leucine residues are also colinear to those present in the leucine zipper motif found in a group of basic region—leucine zipper (bZip) proteins in eukaryotes, including yeast, higher plant, animals, and recently,—in a bacterium.

[0113] Five putative N-linked glycosylation sites are predicted, two of which are proximal to the N-terminus, similar to those identified in mammalian FucTs. However, the remaining three such sites are close to the C-terminus. This latter feature is similar to the sites identified in rabbit and human &agr;1,2-fucosyltransferases (Hitoshi, S., Kusunoki, S., Kanazawa, I., and Tsuji, S. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 17615-17618). Comparison of this polypeptide sequence with other proteins in the protein data bases, using the Blast search program (Version 8.0, Genetic Computing Group, Inc., Madison, Wis.) revealed significant sequence similarity (40-45% identity) to &agr;1-3 and 1-3/1-4 fucosyltransferases from mammalian sources, including human FucT III to VII, bovine FucT III and CFT1 from chicken within an approximately 72 amino acid stretch. As denoted in FIG. 3A, this region is located in the proposed C-terminal catalytic domains of FucTs. Therefore, we designated this gene as HpfucT.

[0114] The remaining sequence beyond this conserved region is relatively divergent from that of eukaryotic FucTs. HpFucT appears to lack the transmembrane segment that is common to eukaryotic FucTs, and which is usually located in their N-terminal region. On the other hand, eukaryotic FucTs do not contain the ˜100 aa region encompassing eight “DDLRV(or I)NY” repeats.

Characterization of the HpfucT Gene Product in E. coli Cells

[0115] To investigate whether or not the predicted HpFucT gene represents a complete locus, a maxicell system was used to detect the protein encoded by this gene. A modified CSR603 strain, which carries a Plac-controlled T7 DNA polymerase gene on the chromosome, was applied for the HpfucT expression. Two recombinant plasmids, pBKHp763fucT38 (carrying the partial HpFucT gene) and pBKHp763fucT39 (carrying the intact HpfucT gene), were constructed (FIG. 1). The HpfucT genes in these two plasmids were controlled by a T7 promoter. Results of expression from these plasmids are shown in FIG. 4. pBKHp763fucT39 gave rise to a specific product of ˜52 kDa (FIG. 4, lane 2) which is in agreement of the predicted molecular mass of 54 kDa. In addition, a protein of ˜41 kDa was produced from pBKHp763fucT38-containing cells (FIG. 4, lane 1). The size of this product is consistent with the predicted 42 kDa of the truncated HpFucT in which the C-terminal 101 amino acids of HpFucT were removed. In contrast, these HpfucT-encoded proteins were not produced in control cells containing either no plasmid or a vector without the insert (FIG. 4, lanes 4 and 3, respectively). Two strong, bands at ˜35 kDa and 29 kDa were present in all the samples, indicating that they were encoded by host genes. This evidence demonstrates that the cloned HpfucT represents a complete locus.

Biochemical Assay of the Overproduced HpFucT Protein

[0116] The partial sequence of this bacterial FucT is homologous to the catalytic domain of mammalian FucTs, suggesting that HpFucT is a fucosyltransferase. Therefore, the nature of this enzyme activity was investigated. To delineate the cellular location of the enzyme activity, membrane and cytoplasmic fractions of E. coli cells producing the HpFucT proteins were prepared. The &agr;1,3-HpFucT activity was quantitated using LacNAc-R as an acceptor and GDP-fucose as the donor. Approximately 85% of the total enzyme activity was associated with the membrane fraction containing the intact HpFucT protein expressed from pBKHp763fucT39; whereas the remaining portion was present in the cytoplasmic fraction (Table 1). No detectable activity of either &agr;1,2-FucT or &agr;1,4FucT was found in the samples tested.

[0117] The Triton X-100-solubilized membrane fraction gave rise to slightly higher. &agr;1,3-FucT activity than the untreated extract (Table 1). No &agr;1,3-FucT activity was obtained from either the membrane or the cytoplasmic fractions prepared from cells producing the truncated HpFucT protein encoded by pBKHp763fucT38. This result indicated that the C-terminal 101 aa of HpFucT is crucial for fucosyltransferase activity.

[0118] The reaction products synthesized by the H. pylori &agr;1,3 fucosyltransferase were characterized using capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection of tetramethylrhodamine (TMR)-labeled acceptors as described in according to a known method. The capillary was 60 cm long (10 &mgr;m i.d.), and the samples were injected onto the electrophoresis column at 1 kV for 5 seconds. The running buffer was 10 mM in phosphate, borate, phenylboronic acid, and SDS (pH 9.3); the running voltage was 400 V/cm. The reaction mixture containing the membrane fraction of cells harboring pBKHp763fucT39, GDP-fucose, and LacNAC-TMR produced a new peak (FIG. 5a, Lewis-X peak), which co-migrated with a synthetic Lex-TMR in the electropherogram (FIG. 5c, peak 3), indicating that the new peak represents a Lex product synthesized by the bacterial &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase of this invention. Synthesis of Lex with this enzyme was further tested by digestion of Lex with fucosidase, which cleaved the Lex product and released LacNAc-TMR. Electrophoresis of the reaction mixture demonstrated that the concentration of LacNAc in the reaction mixture increased by 39%(FIG. 5b, LacNAc peak); whereas the concentration of the Lex product decreased by 36% (FIG. 5b, Lex peak) showing that the test product was synthesized by fucosyltransferase activity. FIG. 5C shows separation of nine standard TMR oligosaccharides found in mammalian metabolism, LacNAcb- (1), Fuc&agr;1→2Gal&bgr;1→4GlcNAc&bgr;- (2), Gal&bgr;1→4[Fuc&agr;1→3] GlcNAc&bgr;- (3), Fuc&agr;1→2Gal&bgr;1→4[Fuc&agr;1→3]GlcNAc&bgr;- (4), GlcNAc&bgr;- (5), linker arm- (6), NeuAc&agr;2→6LacNAc&bgr;- (7), NeuAc&agr;2→3LacNAc&bgr;- (8), NeuAc&agr;2→3Gal&bgr;1→4 [Fuc&agr;1→3]GlcNAc&bgr;-TMR (9).

Claims

1. An isolated polynucleotide encoding a substantially purified transmembrane segment-free polypeptide having &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase activity, or enzymatically active portions thereof, and its complement.

2. The polynucleotide of claim 1, wherein the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide having &agr;1,2-fucosyltransferase activity or &agr;1,4-fucosyltransferase activity.

3. A polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of:

a) SEQ ID NO:4;

b) SEQ ID NO:4, wherein T is U:

c) nucleic acid sequences complementary to a) or b); and

d) fragments of a), b), or c) that are at least 15 nucleotide bases in length and that hybridize to DNA which encodes any one of the polypeptide set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:2 and SEQ ID NO:3.

4. A vector containing the polynucleotide of claim 1.

5. A host cell containing the vector of claim 4.

6. A recombinant method for producing a transmembrane segment-free &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide, comprising:

inserting a nucleic acid encoding the polynucleotide of claim 1 adjacent to a selectable marker, such that the resulting polynucleotide encodes a recombinant &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide fused to the selectable marker.

7. A polynucleotide produced by the method of claim 6.

8. A host cell containing the polynucleotide of claim 6.

9. A recombinant method for producing a transmembrane segment-free &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide, comprising:

a) growing a recombinant host cell containing a polynucleotide of claim 1 encoding a polypeptide having &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase activity under conditions which allow expression and secretion of &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide; and

b) isolating the polypeptide.

10. A method of producing a transmembrane segment-free &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase-fusion protein comprising:

a) growing a host cell containing a polynucleotide of claim 1 encoding a polypeptide having &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase activity operably linked to a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide or peptide of interest under conditions which allow expression and secretion of the fusion protein; and

b) isolating the fusion protein.

11. A gene expression system for producing a transmembrane segment-free &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase comprising a host cell modified with a polynucleotide of claim 1 encoding a polypeptide having &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase activity or an enzymatically active portion thereof.

12. The gene expression system of claim 11, wherein the polynucleotide is DNA, cDNA, or RNA.

13. The gene expression system of claim 11, wherein the host cell is selected from the group consisting of a bacterial cell, a yeast cell, a fungal cell, a plant cell, an insect cell, or an animal cell.

14. The gene expression system of claim 11, wherein the host cell is recombinantly modified by transfection with a plasmid.

15. The gene expression system of claim 14, wherein the plasmid comprises a selectable marker.

16. The gene expression system of claim 15, wherein the selectable marker is glutamine synthetase.

17. A method for producing a transmembrane segment-free &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide, comprising the steps of:

a) culturing a gene expression system comprising a host cell modified with a polynucleotide of claim 1 encoding a polypeptide having &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase activity or an enzymatically active portion thereof; and

b) harvesting the &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising substantially purifying the harvested &agr;1,3-fucosyltransferase polypeptide.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the host cell is recombinantly modified by transfection with a plasmid.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the host cell is selected form the group consisting of a bacterial cell, a yeast cell, a fungal cell, a plant cell, an insect cell, or an animal cell.